Marc Marquez reveals “biggest surprise” of 2025 MotoGP testing

Factory Ducati MotoGP rider Marc Marquez says the form of his brother Alex Marquez has been “the biggest surprise” of the 2025 pre-season.

Gresini rider Alex Marquez will race with the GP24 this season and topped his first test on it in Barcelona last November.

He did the same after the three-day Sepang official test earlier this month, while also posting a sprint simulation faster than anyone.

Read more: Why Ducati is doing anything but standing still with its 2025 MotoGP bike

While he was beaten to a MotoGP testing clean sweep by Marc Marquez at Buriram, the Gresini rider was second in both days and put in a strong race simulation that would have been closer to his brother’s pace had it not been for some small bike issues.

Having not had to develop anything on his bike, Alex Marquez has been able to focus fully on simply adapting the GP24 to his liking and comes into the start of the 2025 campaign as a contender for race wins.

When it was put to him that Alex Marquez said on the same bike his brother was unbeatable, Marc Marquez replied: “I don't know.

"In Barcelona he was super-fast, but then in Malaysia I tried to beat him but it was not possible in the sprint race simulation - he beat me.

“So, honestly speaking, it’s not because he’s my brother but it’s the biggest surprise of the pre-season.

“I know - because I know him - that when he has everything under control and that when he has a bike that he can rider in a good way, because he’s super sensitive on a bike, he understand very well what he needs.

“But when he achieves that feeling, he’s riding super-fast, not only in Catalunya and not only in Malaysia, also here [in Thailand] which is a completely different race track with a lot of hard braking points, he start and today he was in the top three in race pace and in a qualifying practice lap.”

Alex Marquez made a good start to life as a Ducati rider in 2023 when he joined Gresini on a 2022-spec Desmosedici.

The double grand prix world champion managed a handful of Sunday podiums and two sprint victories.

Last year proved more difficult for the younger Marquez brother, however, as the GP23 wasn’t as competitive and meant he could manage just one podium all season.

Despite that, he still finished as the second-best GP23 rider in the standings.

Quotes provided by Crash Indonesian Editor Derry Munikartono